The GFSC’s Cyber Security guidance and principles for the finance sector come into effect on 9th August 2021, following a transition period since the publication of the guidance in February this year.
Industry experts Black Arrow Cyber Consulting are reminding Boards and senior leadership teams that is it likely their firm is not currently compliant, based on the findings from the recent GFSC thematic review.
The threat and impact of cyber security incidents continues to grow with nearly 1.5 million phishing sites emerging every month during 2020; it is this increasing trend which the GFSC is seeking to guard against by outlining that Board members must play an active management role and evidence compliance with the rules.
“The GFSC has made it clear that Boards must confirm to their stakeholders every year that the firm has appropriate cyber security in place. We know from our work with clients in Guernsey that many Boards are relying on the word of their IT provider, without having asked independent questions as they do with other risks. While that approach can provide short term confidence, it could lead to serious issues later if the GFSC investigates a cyber incident in their business” said Tony Cleal Director, Black Arrow Cyber Consulting.
“Guernsey has always prided itself on excellent compliance to all regulatory standards across its financial service industry – cyber security should not be an exception; it is not sufficient to leave this business-critical issue to the IT team, so we’ve tailored a training package, sourcing communications and legal expert partners, to upskill the c-suite and Board members,” said Mark Stone, Consultant with Black Arrow.
Held across two days on 5th July and 14th July, ‘GFSC Cyber Rules for Senior Executives’ will follow the National Institute of Standards and Technology Framework of identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover taking attendees through a detailed look at each of the GFSC rules.
The Black Arrow Cyber Consulting team, including Tony Cleal who ran the Cyber Security Thematic Review that shaped the GFSC’s Cyber Rules, will be joined by communications experts Orchard to share best practice regarding cyber crisis communication.
‘GFSC Cyber Rules for Senior Executives’, will also include a panel session with Richard Field, Partner at Appleby, and an opportunity for participants to ask anonymous questions to Black Arrow, Orchard and Appleby.
Interested directors and NEDs can reserve their space here.
The main image shows the Black Arrow Cyber team, left to right, Mark Stone, James Martel, Josh Crocker, Tony Cleal and Bruce Mc Dougall.
